[villagetinker]

I just received this from NRLN, please read and take action, it appears we could lose Medicare.........I do not believe the original links will work on the pasted document, so I highlighted the link that can be pasted.




NRLN Action Alert
Stop New Plan to
Destroy Medicare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under President Biden's administration is moving ahead with Direct Contracting (DC), an ill-conceived plan announced, but not fully implemented by December 2020 under President Trump's administration. We must demand that President Biden and Congress kill the program.

The DC plan is aimed at the 41 million in original Medicare who would be auto-enrolled in a private plan. Furthermore, investor-backed startup so-called Direct Contracting Entities (DCEs) can be Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), commercial insurers, and even Medicare Advantage (MA) new or existing MA plans. This could mean that the 24.9 million enrollees in MA plans might be converted to original Medicare to come under DCEs. More details later. The Health Affairs publication reported that already the pilot program includes 53 DCEs in 38 states and that 23 of them are investor owned. A second wave of new DCEs are expected to be announced in January 2022.

It is urgent that you respond to this NRLN Action Alert to tell the President and your members of Congress to stop CMS' implementation of DC. If you have never responded to an NRLN Action Alert before, THIS IS THE ONE YOU DON'T WANT TO IGNORE. Click here to access this most important Action Alert. Click here for more details about DC.

Medicare Advantage (MA) has shown that private insurance is not cost effective. Our government paid $41.8 billion to private insurance companies to offer MA plans in 2021 alone and $450 billion over 24 years. Our tax dollars were used to buy vision, hearing and dental benefits and cost sharing, but these benefits were denied to the 40 million participants in original Medicare. Private plans have never been competitive. This year payments to private insurers for MA plans were 104% compared to the cost of original Medicare Fee-for-Service per enrollee. MA plans have never been 100% or below.

While seniors can switch from an MA plan to original Medicare by their decision, they will be involuntarily placed into DCEs without their knowledge or permission.

DCEs will be paid monthly by the CMS to cover a specified portion of a patient's medical care. This is a terrible shift from original Medicare's direct reimbursements to healthcare providers. DCEs are allowed to pocket the funding they don't spend on healthcare. This is a prescription for private insurers to skimp on healthcare for original Medicare patients.

I urge you to take a few minutes right now to email the NRLN's sample letter, with your comments added, to your Representative, Senators and President Biden.

Bill Kadereit Bob Martina
NRLN President NRLN VP - Grassroots

If the "Click here" in the first paragraph does not work for you follow these easy steps:

1. If you have a problem with the link above, then go to http://newtemplate.nrln.org/action-alert/#/home/. Click on the "TAKE ACTION" button below the Stop New Plan to Destroy Medicare. Next, enter your street address and zip code, and click "GO". It will present the sample letter for you to email to President Biden and your Representative and Senators. If you have a problem with this link, go to National Retiree Legislative Network – NRLN - National Retiree Legislative Network and click on "Respond to an Action Alert" in the red bar near the top of the NRLN website home page. When the Action Alert appears, click on the "TAKE ACTION" link. Enter your street address and zip and click "GO" and follow the steps to email the NRLN's sample letters.

2. When you have accessed the sample letter, to the left of the letters are windows to type in your contact information required by members of Congress so they know they are receiving an email from a constituent. If you have sent previous NRLN emails to your members of Congress your contact information may be automatically displayed.

3. Add your personal comments to the letter.

4. Click on the "Preview" button and the letters addressed to your two Senators and Representative will appear. Their names will be automatically added in the letter's greeting. Check to make sure the letters appear correct and then click "Send".

5. If you receive a non-responsive or an evasive answer from your Representative or Senator to this Action Alert, don't hesitate to ask him/her to be more specific and address the issue in your email. Either do a "Respond" to his/her email or click here and scroll down to use the NRLN's Compose Your Own Message to reply to your member of Congress at Action Alert - National Retiree Legislative Network.










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